Remove hidden tracking parameters from YouTube share links before you copy or paste them.
Every time you click Share on YouTube, the platform injects an si identifier that can be used to trace who shared the link and where it traveled. Clean YouTube Links strips that tracking automatically and converts long youtube.com URLs into short, clean youtu.be links.
You share the video. Not a fingerprint.
How It Works
The extension runs quietly in the background on YouTube pages. When you open a share dialog, it cleans the URL in real time before it reaches your clipboard — so there’s nothing to remember and nothing to edit by hand.
It also monitors the address bar to remove tracking parameters without reloading the page. A toolbar popup lets you paste any YouTube URL for instant cleaning. Press Ctrl+Shift+C (Cmd+Shift+C on Mac) to copy a cleaned short link from the current tab, or right-click any YouTube link and select Copy Clean URL.
Key Features
- Removes tracking parameters —
si,ab_channel,feature,pp, and others. - Converts to short links — turns watch URLs into the clean
youtu.beformat. - Cleans the address bar — without reloading the page.
- One-click copy — paste any YouTube URL into the toolbar popup for instant cleaning.
- Keyboard shortcut — Ctrl+Shift+C, or Cmd+Shift+C on Mac.
- Right-click context menu — clean any YouTube link you find, anywhere.
- Lightweight — zero impact on browsing speed.
No data is collected. All processing happens locally in your browser.
Who Can Use It
Anyone who shares YouTube videos in messages, emails, forums, or on social media and wants to protect their privacy — including content creators, journalists, privacy-conscious users, and everyday viewers who simply prefer neat, track-free links.
What Is the si Parameter, and Why Should You Care?
YouTube added the si parameter to share links quietly, and most people have never noticed it. It’s the string tacked onto the end of every URL the Share button produces.
The reason it matters is that it isn’t part of the video address. The video plays identically without it. It exists purely to carry information about the share itself — which means the link you send to a friend, a group chat, or a public forum isn’t just a pointer to a video. It’s a link that arrived from you, and can be recognized as such when others click it.
For a lot of sharing, that’s harmless. For journalists sending sources a video, for anyone posting in a public thread, or for people who simply don’t like being counted, it’s an unnecessary attachment to something that should just be an address. Stripping it costs nothing — the link works exactly the same — and the short youtu.be version is tidier anyway.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this extension do? It removes tracking parameters like si from YouTube URLs and converts them into short, clean youtu.be links — automatically, before the URL reaches your clipboard.
What is the si parameter? It’s an identifier YouTube adds to links generated by the Share button. The video works fine without it; it exists to carry information about the share rather than to locate the video.
Which parameters does it remove? si, ab_channel, feature, pp, and other tracking parameters.
Do cleaned links still work? Yes. The tracking parameters aren’t needed to find or play the video, so a cleaned link opens exactly the same video for whoever you send it to.
Do I have to clean links manually? No. It cleans the share dialog URL in real time before it reaches your clipboard, and tidies the address bar automatically. Manual options exist too — the popup, keyboard shortcut, and right-click menu.
Can I clean a link someone else sent me? Yes. Paste any YouTube URL into the toolbar popup for instant cleaning, or right-click a YouTube link and choose Copy Clean URL.
Does it reload the page when cleaning the address bar? No. Parameters are removed from the address bar without a reload, so your playback isn’t interrupted.
Does it collect any of my data? No. All processing happens locally in your browser and nothing is collected.